Table 9. --Monthly distribution and length range (ran in parentheses) of 

 young-of-the-year spot in samples collected by haul seine in the 

 lower river and bottom trawl in the upper river. 



Striped mullet penetrated well upstream and 

 was taken in Zone 1 in July. 



Pinfish 



Postlarval pinfish (11 mm) first appeared in 

 the estuary in November and small specimens 

 (<18 mm) persisted in the samples from the 

 lower river until early May. This suggests a 

 prolonged spawning period, probably from Oc- 

 tober to April, coincident with the Atlantic men- 

 haden and striped mullet spawning seasons in 

 this area. Spawning occurs offshore. 



Atlantic Croaker 



An insufficient number of young-of-the-year 

 croaker was collected to accurately infer spawn- 

 ing time in this area ; however, there is evidence 



of spawning off the South Carolina coast from 

 October to January (Bearden, 1964). Most of 

 the croakers taken in Newport River were year- 

 lings and adults collected by bottom trawls and 

 gill nets. The species occurred throughout the 

 system. 



Bluefish 



The majority of bluefish collected were year- 

 ling fish taken by gill nets from the lower river. 

 Small numbers of young-of-the-year, however, 

 were collected by surface trawl in the upper riv- 

 er. Yearling bluefish were taken in Zone 6 from 

 March-December, in Zone 5 from April-Novem- 

 ber, and in Zone 4 from May-November. Young- 

 of-the-year (45-72 mm) occurred sporadically 

 in collections from the upper river in May, July, 

 and October. They moved upstream into Zone 2 



16 



